Malawi health minister launches guidelines for evidence in policy making

Minister of Health Dr Peter Kumpalema says utilisation of evidence in decision making process in health sector can help to improve health outcomes and reduce high disease burden in Malawi.

Kumpalume and other officials handing over certificates to officials graduated in evidence based research

Kumpalume said this in Lilongwe during the launch of guidelines for evidence use in policy making process.

He said evidence can help reveal health issues which need to be prioritised and inform the identification of the most effective and impact driven intervention strategies.

Kumpalume said evidence is vital in health sector so that policy makers are able to make policies based on evidence.

The minister said the guidelines will help to generate evidence.

Kumpalume said the guidelines for evidence use in decision making in health sector in Malawi seek to improve direction and enhance the skills of policy makers and practioners in accessing appraising and interpreting available evidence.

African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) Executive Director, Dr Eliya Zulu said making decision and policies based on evidence helps in proper use of resources

Zulu said the training which his organisation made indicated that decisions and policies were being done without proper evidence.

During the function AFIDEP graduated 34 students who were trained in evidence based research.

Cervical Cancer remains a major problem in Malawi evidence reveals

Meanwhile, research based evidence by Beatrice Chikaphonya Phiri reveals that despite effort which is currently undertaken, there is need for Government to do more in order to completely deal with the problem.

Presenting her research brief in Lilongwe during the launch of guidelines for evidence use in policy making process and graduation of Ministry of Health staff trained in evidence informed policy making.

Phiri said Cervical cancer is a major public health problem that kills approximately 250,000 women globally annually.